Sydney-based brokerage Citywide has celebrated ten years in the industry with a growing office network and loan settlements that are hoped to hit $1bn annually.
In an interview with
Australian Broker, Citywide’s managing director Rodny Ghalie said that the firm had been inducted into Vow Financial's $1 Billion Dollar Loan Book Club two years ago and was now aiming larger.
“These days, we write close to $1bn a year,” he said. “Our goal is to get it to a point where we’re writing over $1bn a year. We just want to continue to grow and continue to create value for our clients.”
Citywide does this through its expanding network, culture, and training programs which helps create value instead of providing clients with a mere home loan.
“We’re very driven by the fact that we want to create solutions for our clients.”
Ghalie said that a lot of brokers were “creatures of habit,” sending borrowers to the same handful of lenders while ignoring some of the niche products in the market.
“What we try to do is tailor a package that’s actually going to suit the client not just now but for the long term as well. I find a lot of brokers don’t do that.”
Citywide’s team conducts in-depth fact finds around client goals and aspirations and then uses this to find the best deal, he said.
“It’s more about being energetic, passionate, understanding what the client wants now and for the future, and staying in touch with them. What I find in the banking industry – whether it’s brokers or mobile lenders – is it’s very stale.”
The firm now has 15 offices across Sydney and hopes to open five more within the NSW metropolitan area. After this, it has sights on further expansion across Queensland, Victoria and beyond.
With Citywide’s lending division in a strong position, the goal was to bolster its property management and insurance arms, Ghalie said. The insurance arm is the newest addition to the firm and will be publicly launched soon.
Training is a key part of the firm’s success through weekly sales meetings and an in-depth sales workshop through each staff induction.
“That induction process and the sales workshops really drive the right attitude and the right culture in the group. And because we’ve got a lot of successful brokers in the group, I think it sets a benchmark.”
A rigorous training program gives brokers the confidence to succeed and allows them to envision themselves as a different calibre to someone who’s simply passed through a short workshop, Ghalie said.
Citywide currently has just under 100 staff with 35 to 40 brokers across its Sydney offices. Additional employees include the admin team, property management experts, strata managers, sales, etc.
The firm was established in 2006 by both Ghalie and Jason Mikhail a few years before the GFC. The 10th anniversary celebrations were held this year on 3 November.
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